Leading the Charge
by snakeboy33
Summary: Accepting OCs.  Based off the 2011 series.  Sethos and Nova are two Lizards, who desire to build their own nation.  In order to do that, they intend on finding the Sword of Eternity, an item which will give them the power to create their nation.
1. Prologue

_**Prologue**_

_I'll start with the basics. My name is Sethos, I'm a Lizard. I'm tall for a Lizard, I have a long, whip like tail, and sharp teeth. In a nutshell, aside from my height, I'm your everyday Lizard. I live in the forest, in a small village near a river, with my sister, Nova. I like to consider myself a warrior sometimes, but odds are I'm not. My village doesn't have much on terms of warriors, since its so out of the way, but I guess I sort of count. I have dual swords, and that's about it. My sister has a bow and bunch of arrows, and she sometimes help me if we have to protect our village._

_You might ask me about the Cats. Don't even get me started on those evil dictators. Those tyrants have oppressed us Lizards for many generations, and they have stolen our lands, and our crops. I didn't always live in the forest I live in now, I used to live on the outskirts of a different forest, in a small village. My mother died when I was very young, so my sister and I grew up with a mother. When I was only 9, and my sister was only 7, the Cats attacked my village. My father died in order to save us, and the rest of my family were taken as slaves. Nova and I barely escaped._

_We lived in the wilderness for a long time, for at least an entire year, before by sheer luck, we were found by some Lizard fisherman from another village. They took us back to the village, and I kind family took us in. My best friend is named Veles. However, he isn't much of a warrior. He's a tad cowardly, but he sometimes rises to the occasion._

_Your all probably saying about how the Cats aren't evil, but hear me out, as I give you a lesson in history. The Lizards weren't always at war with the Cats, in fact, almost every animal was submissive to the Insects, a powerful empire that used technology. The Insects had conquered many different people, and oppressed violently. The Cats, however, cowardly threw down their weapons, and submitted. In exchange, the Insects let them keep their independence, but they were still being manipulated by the Insects._

_For many years, the Lizards were oppressed, and sacked by the Insects. However, a great hero came from some unknown land. His name was Mumm-ra. Nobody really knows where he came from, or what he was, but one thing was for sure: he was our savior. He was an unrivaled sorcerer, and strategist, and he lead our soldiers into battle against the Insect's capital city. With his power and intelligence, the city fell, and the Lizards were freed. We worked to establish our own nation, and empire, only for the Cats to start sacking us. They defeated even Mumm-ra in battle, and he disappeared. Since that day, our people have been repeatedly hit by the Cats. Many people were forced from their homes, as others were taken, and sold into slavery, while others were just killed. _

_I made the vow to take my revenge on the feline scum, and to someday bring the Lizards into the light again. The Cats, would someday be the ones who knelt before us._

_Well, I suppose that's all I really have to say. I can't tell you where my village is exactly, since I don't know who is reading this, but let me just say, if any Cats find this, they will have to get through me and my sister, if they want to take our village._

**Note: Okay, so this is the prologue. Let me just say, I liked how the Lizards were more sympathetic in the 2011 series, and that is what I was going for. The Cats ARE NOT going to be the villains, the villains might be the Insects, but I'm not sure. It will intertwine with cannon at some point. Recall, this here is told from a Lizards point of view, so it is of course biased.**

**See my profile for the character sheet. And PM me them.**


	2. Bandits

_**Bandits**_

The sun rose, as another day began for the small Lizard village. The fisherman were out early, in hopes of getting a decent catch.

One shoved his spear into the water, and pulled out a small fish. He sighed.

"The schools have been getting smaller," he said, as he put it in the basket with a few others. His partner leaned on his spear.

"The Cats control the best rivers, and most of the tributaries. We only get what they don't catch," he said with a frown.

The first fisher rubbed the back of his neck.

"Well, we'll have to make do with this, let's head back to the village," he said, as he picked up the basket, and the two Lizards began walking back.

The village looked fairly typical. There were a bunch of huts, a few fire pits, and some small pets running around.

Nova stepped out of her hut, and stretched. She flicked her tail around a little to get some feeling back into it. She grabbed her bow, and arrow sack, as she went out to the outskirts the village, goose-stepping her way around the area.

Sethos, meanwhile, was just waking up. He slowly leaned up on his tail, rubbing the back of his neck. It was still pretty early, though he noticed his sister wasn't present. Sethos yawned, baring his large teeth, before getting his swords, and putting them on his back.

Nova began walking back through the village, and noticed her brother coming out.

"You're normally not an early riser," he said.

"Neither are you," Nova answered as she walked past him.

Sethos couldn't help but chuckle, as he headed off to wander around a little. As he left, he noticed the return of the village fishermen.

Sethos' wandering eventually lead him to a small hideout of his. It was in a clearing deep within the forest, with a small rock where Sethos could sit and think. He only went to this place when he needed to clear his head, and think about certain things.

Sethos set his swords beside the rock, and he lay back on it, and stared at the trees above him. He had a lot of things on his mind, but one of the main things, was a symbol in his head. He yawned, as he picked up a stick from the ground, and began doodling something in the ground. It was the symbol of a lizard, with a diamond around it. Sethos sighed. Right now, that symbol seemed like nothing more than a distant dream, as he leaned back, and stared straight up.

Meanwhile, at the village, most people had woken up, and started their daily routines. Young Lizards played, as older ones worked. Nova brought a basket of food over to an elderly Lizard, who thanked her.

"Hey Nova!" a familiar voice called. Nova looked over her shoulder, and saw Veles coming up. He was rather big, and he had fat tail, with black and orange scales **(he's based off a gila monster)**.

"Do you know where Sethos went?" he asked.

"I saw him heading into the forest," Nova answered," He's probably gone to his private location. He might be back in a little while, he doesn't like leaving the village unattended."

As if an cue, Sethos began walking into the village, his tail dragging behind him.

"Sethos!" Veles called. Said Lizard looked up.

"Oh hey!" he said, as he walked over," What's up?"

"I was wondering if you wanted to go hunting with me?" Veles asked," Me and the guys are going out to see what we can find."

"I'll pass," Sethos said," If I'm gone, the village might be vulnerable, I mean, Nova can't handle things on her own."

Nova glared at her brother, as she hit him on the head with her tail.

"You know I'm standing right here," she said.

"My mistake," Sethos said with a smile," You're so short, I think a cricket would have trouble finding you." Sethos paused, waiting for a laugh, but his sister and his friend just stared at him.

"I'm only an inch shorter than you," Nova said," But keep trying."

"Sure you don't want to come?" Veles asked.

"Sure and certain," Sethos answered with a shrug," Sorry."

"Oh well, your loss," Veles said, shrugging back, before heading back to his group, and they all headed into the forest.

"Why don't you go with them?" Nova asked.

"I hate leaving the village unguarded," Sethos answered.

"The village hasn't been attacked in two years, and even then it was only a little group of highway Dogs," Nova said.

"Nonetheless, I don't like leaving things here," Sethos said, as he gestured to the village," I mean, look at everyone."

One married pair was holding hands, while the mother held a little hatchling in her other arm, and the father let the little one play with his tail. A group of kids were kicking a ball back and forth to each other, laughing happily. One Lizard was helping his old mother stand up and walk.

Nova smiled.

"Well, at least there is definitely something worth protecting," she said.

"I know," Sethos said," We can't let the same thing that happened at our old village, happen here." As the two watched, something was also apparent. There was very little food, and most Lizards looked skinny, and hungry. Sethos sneered.

"Those Cats have been stealing for too long," he said," I have been dreaming of the day Thundera falls for some time now." Nova just looked at her brother briefly.

Later in the day, Sethos was sitting on a log, with the children gathered around him.

"Tell us the story of the Sword of Eternity again!" one male said excitedly.

"That one again?" Sethos asked.

"Yeah!" all the kids said. Sethos chuckled.

"Okay then," he said," According to legend, there was once this immensely powerful weapon that belonged to a great civilization. No one really knows what kind of animal controlled this civilization, but its said that the source of their power was the Sword of Eternity. The sword was said to wield incredible power, and the one who held it could take out an entire army. The first ruler of the kingdom apparently built it from scratch, just with the sword, its power was said to be limitless."

"What happened to the city?" one female asked.

"Well, apparently, the city was finally taken down, how isn't known, but the sword was lost to time," Sethos said," But some say that the sword remains hidden away, deep within the old city. And someday, I will take the entire village to that city. And we will never have to worry about things like food or resources again."

"Filling this kids up with your stories brother?" Nova asked as she walked up.

"Oh hey, Sis!" Sethos said.

"Nova!" a male said," Sethos was telling us about the Sword of Eternity!"

Nova smiled.

"Well, you can't take everything my brother says straight to heart," she said," Why don't you all go play?" The kids then ran off.

"You shouldn't be filling them with stories like that," Nova said.

"I'm not," Sethos said," I'm filling them with hope. They're young, they need something to believe in."

"But I don't think that really applies to something like this," Nova said," What people need is something good to happen."

"Pity miracles like that don't just fall from the sky," Sethos said.

As if on cue, an enormous shadow descended down, and knocked Sethos down.

"What the…," Nova said, only to be knocked down by another shape. The siblings looked up, and saw at least six birds circling overhead. Each one had black feathers, and red, bald heads. **(based off a bunch of vultures)**

"Bandits!" Sethos said, as he pulled his swords out, and Nova pulled out her bow and readied an arrow.

"Let's get some loot!" the one who was apparently the leader, declared, before he and the others descended down upon the village.

Everyone began screaming as the Birds dive bombed them. They grabbed whatever wealth, which was VERY little, they could find. Even though there wasn't much, it was still important for the village.

Nova notched and arrow, and took aim. She fired. The Bird she was aiming for dodged, and shot forward. He swung his knives forward, but Nova blocked with an arrow. It was knocked from her hands, and she was knocked down. When the Bird came back down to finish the job, Nova spun on her hands, and whipped him in the face with her tail, sending him into the ground.

Sethos swung his swords in an attempt to catch one of them, but the more mobile fliers dodged with ease.

"Veles, take the…," Sethos said, as he turned, only to see his friend hiding behind a tree. Sethos rolled his eyes.

"I thought as much," he muttered, before calling," When you feel better, come out!" Sethos then turned back to the battle, and readied his swords. The Birds descended upon him again, but this time, Sethos was ready, he charged at them, ready to take them down, but then they did something he wasn't ready for.

One of them pulled out two strange weapons, and pointed them at Sethos. Beams of light then came out of the weapons, and Sethos barely had time to dodge them. They caused explosions where they had hit.

"What sorcery is this?" Nova asked.

"I don't know if its sorcery!" Sethos said, as he pointed. Nova followed his finger, and noticed the lead vulture carrying the two weapons. They were smoking.

"I think that's technology!" he said.

"Impossible!" Nova said," That's a myth!"

"And yet he squeezed that weapon, and light came out!" Sethos said," I think we might need to lessen what we consider 'possible'!" Before Nova could respond, the Birds swooped down. Nova managed to dodge. She then notched an arrow, and looked straight down the beam. She watched as the Bird swooped up, and she fired. Her arrow soared through the air, and hit the Bird, knocking his bag out of his talons.

"Why you little..," the Bird began to say, as he shot down at her. But this time, Nova was ready. She swung her bow, and it hit the Bird clean in the face, and sent it scattering onto the ground.

"Take that, Featherbrain!" Nova said proudly.

"Could use a little help, Sis!" Sethos called, as he continued to swing his swords around.

"Coming, Bro!" Nova answered, as she drew an arrow and fired. Distracted, one of the Birds was hit in the wing. He fell to the ground, screeching in pain.

"Bird down! Bird down!" one Bird squawked. Two Birds hoisted their fallen comrade onto their shoulders, as the leader fired his two weapons again. However, Sethos knew what to expect this time. He dodged the blasts, and leaped forward, swinging both of his swords in synchronization.

The swords knocked the weapons from the Bird's talons, and, like most bandits, the Birds cowardly all took to the skies, and flew away.

Sethos gasped as he collapsed to the ground.

"That was too close," he said tiredly.

Nova sat next to him.

"Hey, we saved the village, be happy about that," she said, as she patted him on the shoulder.

The Lizards of the village cheered at the triumph of their protectors. Veles went over to the bag that the Bird had dropped. He picked through it. Sethos walked over to the fallen weapons, and picked them up. He aimed, and fired.

"These could come in handy," he said, as he slipped them onto his belt.

"Hey, Sethos, Nova!" Veles called," Come over here!"

The two did as they were advised, and walked over.

"What is it?" Nova asked.

Veles handed them a strange object of sorts. Sethos took it.

"Its some sort of pipe," he said, as he looked for the mouth piece. He found it, and blew into it gently. Not a sound came out.

"That's weird," Nova said.

"Well, its probably junk, let's throw it out," Sethos said with a shrug, as he threw it down. Nova, however, caught it.

"Don't go judging yet, Sethos," she said, as she studied it carefully. Her pupils then widened.

"Sethos!" she called.

"Hmm?"

"I think this is the Flute of Eternity!"

**Note: And here is chapter 1. Not much, except, yeah, its the Flute of Eternity. I will explain more about next chapter.**

**OCs aren't going to appear until the start of their journey, which will be at chapter 3 hopefully. Sorry. I'm gladly taking ideas.**


	3. The Flute of Eternity

_**The Flute of Eternity**_

**Note: One anonymous reviewer wasn't getting off my ass, so I started writing again. (please stop)**

"The Flute of Eternity?" Veles asked," As in the ancient item said to guide the way to the Temple of Eternity?"

"Yes!" Nova said, holding it out.

"But you said yourself that the Sword doesn't exist!" Sethos said.

"Well, I thought it didn't!" Nova said," But this flute…"

"How can you even be sure?" Sethos asked," There are a lot of flutes on Third Earth. What makes this one special?"

Nova held up the flute.

"See these symbols?"

"Yeah," both of the guys answered.

"These symbols mimic the same design as the ones on the ancient tablets," Nova explained.

"Ancient tablets?" Sethos echoed," Since when were you such a fan of history?"

"I often look at old scrolls and tablets while cutting wood," Nova answered. Her brother and friend stared at her awkwardly. Nova's eyes shifted slightly.

"I've been cutting wood a lot lately," she admitted," But that's irrelevant!"

"So the symbols are like some on same old rock?" Sethos said," So what? Probably just another legend." Nova gasped at her brother's words.

"Sethos, you of all Lizards….," she said slowly," Aren't you excited?" Sethos signed as he leaned against his tail, and stuck his swords into the ground.

"Look sis," he said," I'm just trying not to get my hopes up. You know how many leads I've looked for that have lead nowhere? The answer is: a lot." Nova sighed.

"Look bro'," she said," This could be a chance to fulfill your lifetime dream! To take revenge on the Cats!" Sethos looked at his sister briefly before sighing, and rubbing the back of his head.

"Well, what's the worse that could happen?" he asked. Veles opened his mouth, but Sethos swatted him the face with his tail.

"That was rhetorical," he said.

Nova looked at the flute closely.

"So what can you make out of it?" Sethos asked.

"There is a pattern," she said," The symbols are certainly consistent."

"Can you read them?"

Nova glared at Sethos.

"Its a dead language that hasn't been spoken or written in who knows how long," she said," Do you think I can read it?"

"A simple 'no' would have sufficed, sis," Sethos said, holding up his claws in a mock surrender.

"Look, what I mean is these symbols could be a guide to the Sword of Eternity, or a cartoon drawn up by some kid," Nova said," I'm afraid I don't have a clue."

Sethos took the flute.

"Let's find out if anything happens," he said," According to the legend, if you play the flute, it will guide the way to the Sword." With that, he brought the flute to his mouth, and gently blew into it. Not a sound came out of it.

"There's our answer," Sethos said, as he tossed the flute aside, and onto the ground.

Nova sighed and shrugged.

"Well at least we tried," she said, as she followed Sethos and Veles back into the village, where people were cleaning up from the raid.

Nobody seemed hurt, and it wasn't like their was anything of value for the Birds to steal, so in all, it wasn't really a loss for the villagers.

"Well, let's get cleaning," Sethos said, as he picked up a box.

**(X)(X)(X)(X)(X)(X)(X)(X)(X)(X)(X)(X)(X)(X)(X)(X)(X)(X)**

The Birds soared through the air, and neared a rocky area. It was in a dry area, not far from the Sand Sea. The Birds soared into a gorge, and once landing, entered a cave.

"This place is creepy," one whispered nervously.

"Shut it!" another said," Do you want her to hear you?'

"Both of you shut up!" the leader yelled, as they walked through the caves. Littered throughout the area, were strange forms of webbing, that resembled the webbing of a spider. And every so often, the Birds would catch a glimpse of something in the shadows, only for it to dart away.

They came into an opening in the cave, where the only light was a single torch at the top.

"You're late," a raspy, female voice said.

"Forgive us, ma'am," the leader said," But we were sidetracked."

"Meaning you raided another village," the voice sneered," But that's irrelevant, where's the Flute?"

One of the Birds rustled through his pack.

"What the…," he said softly, as he dug deeper. The leader quickly moved over.

"What's taking you?" he hissed.

"Is their a problem?" the voice asked.

"Not at all!" the leader said, before turning back to his comrade," Get it out!"

"I can't find it," the other Bird hissed right back," We must of dropped it!" It then dawned on the Birds. They lost the Flute in the village.

"It seems you don't have it," the voice said, as a shadowy figure freed itself from the darkness and approached them.

"My Lady," the leader said," A minor setback, we know where it is, we shall retrieve it at once!"

"Not an option my friend," the voice said, as a female shape appeared in the darkness," The Birds have lost their touch." There was a sound of snapping fingers.

Suddenly, a huge creature emerged from the darkness. It had a long body, with segments resembling a centipede, but it had a humanoid-face, and its upper body was also humanoid, granted it had several arms going to down its torso.

"Shall I deal with them, my Lady?" the creature asked.

"By all means," the female responded.

With that, the centipede struck forward. The Birds took to the air, but a couple were captured, and they disappeared within his coils.

The Birds tried to escape, but their was a buzzing sound, as there were several yellow flashes, and the remaining Birds fell to the ground, dead. Two female humanoids, with four arms, insectoid-wings, and yellow and black skin landed on the ground. They had a stinger on their back, making them resemble wasps.

"Never send Birds to do a job," the female at the head said," they get distracted to easily.

"What shall we do know?" one of the wasps asked.

"The time of the Insects comes again," the leader said," We must move now!"

**(X)(X)(X)(X)(X)(X)(X)(X)(X)(X)(X)(X)(X)(X)(X)(X)(X)(X)**

Sethos found himself unable to sleep that night, as he stared at the hut roof on his matt. He sighed as he sat up, and stretched, deciding the best thing to do at the time would be to take a walk around.

The young perentie walked through the village, his eyes just randomly wandering. Eventually, his eyes fell on the small flute.

"I guess I nobody put it on the fire this time," Sethos said to himself," Oh well, I'll just add to do the pile." With that, he bent down, and grabbed it.

"OW!" he said, as he grabbed his hand, having gotten a splinter. Normally, Lizards didn't get splinters because of their scales, but every so often it happened.

"Damn," Sethos muttered, as he looked down at the flute, and noticed a little blood got on it. Suddenly, the flute began to glow, and Sethos' eyes widened. The symbols seemed to fade, and take a different form. When the light dissipated, the letters were now Lizard letters.

Slowly Sethos picked it up.

"Nova, wake up!" he yelled as he ran into the hut. His sister abruptly sat up.

"GAH!" she said," Darn leg cramps!" She glared at Sethos.

"What's the deal Sethos?" Nova demanded," Its the middle of the night!" Sethos held up the Flute.

"You were right, this is the Flute of Eternity!


End file.
